The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-23
RARE AND BEAUTIFUL.

RARE AND BEAUTIFUL.
CHAT WITH A RECENTLY RETURNED
ORCHID COLLECTOR.
Gathering the Weird and Esaent,io
Deyei6fpGmoteents of the Floral Kingdom.
hifo Among savages-Beginnins Of o
Craze for Orchids. . s.ss
1t was my good fortune to meet in Mr..
Bergman's greenhouses world renowned
discoverer and dealer in these weird and
eccentric developments of the floral king
dom, Mr.. Fretlrico Man, who hns Just re-
turned from his ANNUAL trip to South
America IL quest of orchids, bringing
With him ship load of tie coveted buds,
tropical ferns and the Towering onion for
the New York and Brooklyn markets, as
well as for those of London, Paris and
Berlin. Fifty thousand orchids Of this Inn
portation are In Mr.. Bergnan's care.
Some half dozen men were biisily opening
the crates In which the plants were boxed,
while others had already found place In
the greenhouses among those already Gull
tivated by. the florist. Some tropical birds
brought. BY the merchant in orchids
seemed to have found fitting home in
such surroundings. AS Mr. Man talked
of his methods of trade I cannot do better
in this direction than to- repeat some pot-
tions Of it In. answer to the queries pro-
pounded by his curious visitors on this oc-
CASTOR, and as nearly as possible In his
own language.
...You see," said he, "I 1--we been visit
ing South America for some ten or twelve
years on purpose to obtain orchids from
the forests of Brazil, tho United States of
Colombia and elsewhere. 1have my own
servants, guides, ETC., who are ready to
meet me on. arrival. We travel 1000
miles into the interior, perhaps, before be-
ginning operations. OF course take an
interpreter with me, as in all my journeys
have not learned the low mixture of
languages spoken by the natives"
FOES TO BE FEARED.
care you not timid amid such q rude
people9''
'Oh, no; my guides and myself are well
armed. The foes we have most to fear
nre the reptiles and wild animals
"And how do you defend yourself
against thems"
ave travel by boat and Oh imuleback
when we can; and sometimes through
almost impenetrable forests, but at night
we have one rule for shelter and protec-
ton. Three fires are made and our hut
placed in the triangular space between
them. There are many tigers in the Bra
lillian forests, and as for snakes-wen, I
could spend hours telling you Of them. I
brought home the skin Of one thirty feet
long. Here on my thumb is the scar of o
reptilen-
''Don't tell us more Of the snakes"
said Mr.. Mans audience.
stNo, no, 1t is Of the orchids you want
to know: Well, orchids are parasites.
They grow on rocks and trees and are fed
by. the moisture in the atmosphere, al
though there are orchids that grow In the
earth. They are found In all countries,
parasites. Tho natives of South America
are very fond of them, cultivate them
around their dwellings and call them
: fleur de santus, the flower of health.
Sometimes gorgeous flower is seen on
the top of forest tree, which Is only OBJ
tainable by cutting down the tree; some
times they are found near the SUBMITS Of
mountains 10000 or $4,000 feet high, as
somo species grow where. 1t is cold and
near the SHOWS, and others where the heat
is constant and almost oVerpowering."
'sHow do you transport these gather
ings Of orchids''
'At times the natives carry them, but
usually on muleback to some sea port
and no freight Is more costly, as the
wooden crates in which they are packed
must be 80 arranged as to give the plants.
air."
BEGINNING OF A CRAZE.
care many orchids sold in this coun-
try?" asked the writer.
tOh, yes, there is the beginning Of O
craze for them in the United States, but
as yet not at al in comparison to that
which exists in England, France and Ger
many. It Is becoming the fashionable
flower here as well as there for decora-
tions, for dinner parties, for brides bou-
quets, etc.
care these flowers very expensiveq'
s'Decidedly. A small bouquet of them
may represent $25. In England the
wealthy people will give almost any price
for new orchid. !"
ssHow long have they been known
there!"
"About 1870 years, perhaps little more;
missionary to India sent some specimens
home and sea captains brought them from
South America, the South Sea Islands,
Mexico, Porto Rico and elsewhere. The
English people liked them and gradually
they have grown into great favor TIL the
mania for them resembles the craze that
once existed in Europe for the black tulip.
Agents are sent everywhere that orchids
are indigenous for new varieties. have
myself discovered seventeen new varie-
ties. Baron SHREDDER, who resides near
London, has the finest collection in the
world; the Duke of Marlborough has
many rare varieties and so has Baron
Rothschild. It was in Boston that Or
chids first found favor in this country.
Mr.. Jay Gould has o splendid collection
In his greenhouses near Tarrytown on the
Hudson; Mr.. Corning, of Albany, has the
most extensive collection this side of the
ocean, and Mr.. Cornelius Vanderbilt is
beginning to purchase them for his place
in Newport ''-Brooklyn Eagle.
Mark Twain's Scholarly Attninments.
People who know Samuel L. Clemens
only as Mark Twain, the humorist, have
no idea of the scholarly attainments OF
the man. Reading his books of travel, one
gets only the impression of a newspaper
man. 4 brilliant and witty one, it Is
true, but with the shallow fippancy, the
irrsYerence that is the characteristic of
many journalists who hold few things
sacred and would sacrifice most things to
point O funny paragraph.
Dora Wheeler, who has painted the por-
traits of most of the literary men and
women of to-day, painted Twain's not
long ago, and said Of him that she had
never had among all her literary sitters
one mc1e thoughtful, learned and schol-
Yrz 1i1yo Aoch from,